my 2 cents' worth

When I got the news that Leonard Nimoy aka Mr. Spock of Star Trek TV fame had passed away yesterday(February 27,2015) at 83 years of age due to the effects of COPD(chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), I felt sad. Spock’s character had touched the hearts of us humans probably because of his being half-human and half-Vulcan ancestry. His empathy of the human condition makes us assess ourselves in our own place in this world.

Mr. Nimoy is a multitalented individual, having been involved in acting, directing(for ex., the movie 3 Men and a Baby) ,movie producing,writing books and doing charity work.

One of his final tweets is in my opinion quite memorable….A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had but not preserved except in memory. LLAP(Long Live And Prosper).

You will be preserved in both everyone’s hearts and memories. With your famous Star Trek hand and finger salute(aka Vulcan salute), LLAP to you as well!

I could just imagine your dear friend Scotty also of Star Trek fame who went ahead of you to the pearly gates, to be already beaming you up to join him.

Just a few days ago, it was reported that Jean Claude Savoie ,the reptile shop owner will eventually return to Campbellton,New Brunswick from Montreal,Quebec to face charges(possibly at least negligent in nature) pertaining to the deaths of the 2 young brothers Connor and Noah Barthe due to strangulation from an African rock python . Expected date of appearance at Campbellton Regional Court will be on April 27,2015.

Today,Feb. 5,2015 , it was announced in the news media that an arrest on the deaths of the 2 boys Noah and Connor Barthe of Campbellton,New Brunswick,Canada had been made in Montreal,Quebec,Canada. Reports show that the reptile shop owner Jean-Claude Savoie was the person referred to in this latest arrest. His shop was the scene of the crime where his pet African rock python had strangled both young boys in their sleep. Autopsy findings confirmed this premise.

Apparently,Mr. Savoie moved to Montreal where he’s now based. Charges reportedly weren’t made yet and the investigation is still ongoing with no fixed timeline.. It’s not clear yet as to when he’ll be sent back to New Brunswick.

Then why does another Asian airline get struck twice with 2 airliners missing without a trace in that part of Southeast Asia? It was deja vu once again for me once the saga of Asia Air QZ8501 came about on Dec. 28,2014.

I couldn’t help but remember the still mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airlines MH370 on March 8,2014 which remains unsolved up to now.

With our high-tech world and the ability to track almost anything, I find it quite insane that we couldn’t even find 2 jumbo airliners with an adequate tracking system. GPS on a plane,anyone?

This QZ8501 apparently disappeared in the midst of heavy monsoon weather after an initial request from the pilot to fly to a higher altitude and a route change was rejected at air traffic control in Indonesia from where the plane flew out from.

As of this time, the search for the plane is still ongoing. The chain of events is similar to what had happened in Malaysia last March, that is,search teams, airline officials communicating to the media and the passengers’ families and friends waiting in angst and despair for any developments.

These events of course bring back the events of what had happened to MH370.

One thing’s for sure. Nothing has changed in terms of improving the airplane tracking system .Will it have to take a 3rd missing plane to get anything into action at all?

God help us all!

I just hope that QZ8501 will be found and would in a way after learning any details about how it disappeared would also help find MH370 .

In both cases,closure for the families and friends of the passengers would occur whatever the outcome would be.

Today ,October 22,2014 will go down in Canadian history as a day of infamy. It’s a day which would herald the loss of innocence for Canada for sure. Just 2 days ago,through a hit and run maneuver, a Canadian soldier by the name of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was killed in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec by a radicalized Canadian citizen(Martin Couture-Rouleau). Today,at Canada’s national capital(Ottawa) in Ontario, a soldier reservist by the name of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo,a native ofHamilton,Ontario was shot, injured and eventually died from gunshot injuries in-hospital by 1 of apparently 3 gunmen at the National War Memorial where Cpl. Cerillo was working as a sentry.The incident occurred around 9:52 am EST and minutes later, mass shootings occurred at the nearby Parliament Hill building(the seat of Canadian government).

Amidst the scuffle inside Parliament Hill, the Parliament Sergeant-at-Arms(Kevin Vickers, a native of Miramichi,New Brunswick) shot and killed 1 of the gunmen—MichaelZehab-Bibeau,a 32 y/o natural-born Canadian citizen from Quebec who was a recent Muslim convert and with a prior history of drug abuse as well as a recent revocation of his passport because of prior dubious international trips.

As a result, the city of Ottawa was and still placed on lockdown at the present time since a massive manhunt for the other gunmen are still at large.

Sadly, this is the new normal now in this current situation of fighting the war on terror.

In a way, it’s like our own Sept. 11 event.

Killing a soldier who was guarding our own Canadian version of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier speaks only of the horrendous, attempted desecration by the terrorists of our view in honoring the sanctity of the courage and sacrifices of our men and women in uniform.

I say attempted because honor for the soldiers will never die in spite of today’s event.

In the coming hours and days, hopefully, we would all know the details as to why such a horrendous event had happened here in Canada. Also,hopefully, we will learn from this and take the necessary steps/changes to improve Canada’s homeland security system. Let bureaucratic heads roll if necessary.

Robin Williams, a very famous American comedian extraordinaire with a versatile flair of going and switching through different acting genres(drama,comedy, musical,standup,etc) had died at the age of 63 in his California home on August 11,2014. Cause of death as determined by the coroner was asphyxiation secondary to hanging from his bedroom door with a necktie.

Such a man who spreads laughter and fun to his audience was actually crying inside his heart. It appears that it was his way of dealing with his problems by not letting anyone into his musings and blocking it out by exhibiting comedic overtures. Such a maneuver can make false impressions that even a naïve bystander think that he’s just joking and a good friend thinking that he’s dealing with his problems quite well. Also bear in mind that he was also a very good actor so his portrayal of general appearances can potentially be misleading as well.

The reality of depression is often dismissed or downplayed for fear of social stigma since it’s a mental health problem. It’s actually a real medical problem which is a brain disease but definitely on an abstract level which requires observation,inference and intervention. When this is done, it will prevent utter tragedy since suicide is the ultimate result if the depression isn’t handled well nor promptly.

I hope that Robin Williams’ plight will bring into focus the reality of depression and substance abuse which is also a coping mechanism to deal with depression.

In spite of his constant seeking of treatment for his problems, I guess that his depression was so severe that the emotional pain became so unbearable for him that he took his own life to end his emotional suffering once and for all.

R.I.P. Robin Williams! You took our human hearts by greeting us Nanu-nanu as Mork, the lovable alien. You’re now free like your Disney character Aladdin’s genie from the bottle and now perching up there with the stars in the galaxy. Knock them dead up there with your comedic flair.

Yesterday, it was reported that the RCMP(Royal Canadian Mounted Police) had already completed their investigation on the Campbellton Python Incident and had already submitted their findings to the Crown Prosecutor’s Office . From there, it will be determined if any charges will be made.

No public comments were made by the RCMP in light of this latest development.

It should be noted that the 1st anniversary of this case is fast approaching,that is,Aug. 5th.